Nothing personal, but I hope the pass rate in most states comes in betweeen 20 and 30% for the next 4 or 5 years. We need to cull the herd and give this legal market a chance to recover, so that the millions of unemployed lawyers we already have floating around can find some work.

thats ridiculous[/quote]

what's ridiculous are that state bars keep admitting thousands of new members twice a year, when over half the graduates from the past two years' graduating classes, still haven't found any work. So, yes I do hope all of you and thousands of other test takers fail the bar. Its harsh, but the more of you there are, the less money I make. Its that simple.[/quote]

Nothing personal, but perhaps your inability to get a job in over a year has more to do with yourself than your competition. It could just be THAT simple.

I downloaded the ExamSoft software and did a practice test on it. Ever since then, my speakers and headphone jack don't put out audio. I've tried adjusting my speaker settings, to no avail. My headphones work fine on my MP3 player, so I know it's not they're not broken. Anyone else dealt with this?

This thread seriously has me about to cry. I made top 20% and a secondary journal at at T25 and instead of feeling like celebrating my 1L successes, I have never felt like more of a failure in my life. And Matthies, I understand the importance of networking, and obviously you and your friends have been successful. But for anyone interested in public interest or government, I don't think that's going to help much. It might give you a tiny leg up over a similar candidate but it's not like going on a bunch of lunches and informational interviews with people is going to get them to overturn hiring freezes just for me, especially when ITE they could probably get themselves an HLS grad if they did need anyone. I know that if I were making hiring decisions, I'd probably hire the kid from the higher-ranked school even over someone I know well.

Hey, I have NO grades, NO class rank, NO law journal, and NO moot court experience. I was hired for a PI job (fed gov't) over some friends from traditional law schools ranked 30-50 spots higher than mine. What I did have was a shitload of contacts and experience in my legal specialty-both before and during law school-that showed commitment to the field and the agency that I'm going to be working for. My entire interview was about my work experience and my thoughts on the agency's role--it helped that I'd interned with the agency in undergrad even though that was 8 years ago. The only question that came up about school was whether or not I'd taken a trial skills course. Fortunately, not everyone with hiring authority has the same viewpoint as you do. There are other ways to stand out than just the numbers.

Please, any advice would be great. I have no idea what to do right now. I mean, I'm really good at actual law ... I received an A on my appellate brief, and in my internship I keep getting compliments on my briefs and research. But still, grades are everything in this career.

Actually, if you want to do PI, grades AREN'T everything. PI employers tend to focus less on grades. Considering the lower pay, many tend to look more for evidence of commitment to the field/cause, so they have better assurance you won't jump ship for that BigLaw job. Practical experience can make up for a lot as well.

Law school exams aren't much like the actual practice of law. If you perform well and enjoy your work on your internships, that may be much more indicative of your ability in the profession than how you perform on some artificial, 3-4 hour, closed book test. And yes, you can definitely bring up your grades over the next 2 years, especially since you'll be able to choose most of your classes from then on, pick what's interesting to you and you'll likely do better.